Enter your mobile number or email address below and we'll send you a link to download the free Kindle Reading App. Then you can start reading Kindle books on your smartphone, tablet, or computer - no Kindle device required.

In his pursuit of Texas terroir, the sense of place manifest in Texas wine country’s sun-baked soils, variable climate, and human intervention, Russell Kane has traveled the state tasting wine, interviewing the major players in Texas wine culture, and reflecting on the state’s extraordinary history and enterprising peoples. Here is the total immersion experience. Texas Wineslinger, the moniker now synonymous with Kane, sprouted from a blog of an Australian wine writer after Kane compared the big red wines that originate from the red sand and porous limestone common to both the Texas High Plains and Australia’s Coonawarra wine region. Kane’s reflections include explorations of Spanish missionary life and the sacramental wine made from Texas’s first vineyard as well as the love for grapes and wine brought subsequently by German and Italian immigrants from their homelands. Kane also relates stories of the modern-day growers and entrepreneurs who overcame the lingering effects of temperance and prohibition—forces that failed to eradicate Texas’s destiny as an emerging wine-producing region. A postscript, “A Winegrower’s Prayer,” serves as a poignant reminder of the challenges that weigh heavy on those still defining the terroir of Texas’s wine frontier.

{"currencyCode":"USD","itemData":[{"priceBreaksMAP":null,"buyingPrice":24.22,"ASIN":"0896727386","isPreorder":0},{"priceBreaksMAP":null,"buyingPrice":17.13,"ASIN":"1893271439","isPreorder":0},{"priceBreaksMAP":null,"buyingPrice":16.95,"ASIN":"1609490126","isPreorder":0}],"shippingId":"0896727386::sWD61PxD2O5BK2f3SftL%2BJleYOKka6V0HFmYGXK%2FoJnzAr9ZcxgKaw1B29cs1LOJ80%2FZazRhLK0SGAQbZ16%2BXcDESx%2BwhIIF6FhvPZfLfjtSmeUmEVg1UQ%3D%3D,1893271439::Jpa43%2FSJhU018oXlKH%2Bloj5yiqz1YmEzFHOCjIoCWFGn4OQj7Qau5kKQ64cnNbPdIdJFlgrwUslkVRhhMA3mr6XTqT0YimcOHXoNkDVZC08%3D,1609490126::Jpa43%2FSJhU06%2Fdze7hKgHclpjMhrhpdL23p0SnGUEeRTeP9XVjOkK4swEi4ElyHakhwvVkeIcakvgTJiuybDUsa3alMzwb3UGqzV741dStJmepJszX3YIw%3D%3D","sprites":{"addToWishlist":["wl_one","wl_two","wl_three"],"addToCart":["s_addToCart","s_addBothToCart","s_add3ToCart"],"preorder":["s_preorderThis","s_preorderBoth","s_preorderAll3"]},"shippingDetails":{"xz":"same","xy":"same","yz":"same","xyz":"same"},"tags":["x","y","z","w"],"strings":{"addToWishlist":["Add to Wish List","Add both to Wish List","Add all three to Wish List","Add all four to Wish List"],"addToCart":["Add to Cart","Add both to Cart","Add all three to Cart","Add all four to Cart"],"showDetailsDefault":"Show availability and shipping details","shippingError":"An error occurred, please try again","hideDetailsDefault":"Hide availability and shipping details","priceLabel":["Price:","Price for both:","Price for all three:","Price For All Four:"],"preorder":["Pre-order this item","Pre-order both items","Pre-order all three items","Pre-order all four items"]}}

Editorial Reviews

Review

With wine now made in all fifty states, the gift of the gods is on the way to becoming a national drink. But each state has unique growing situations, and it’s not yet certain where truly great American wine will be produced. In The Wineslinger Chronicles, Russ Kane tells the tale of Texas wine in an educational, friendly style. . . . So sit back and enjoy both Texas wines and Kane’s book. —George M. Taber, author of Judgment of Paris

Doc Russ is the kind of guy who can mix blues, barbecue, and Barbera in a truly Texan way, and as he writes I can smell the mesquite smoke, hear the wailing guitar and chew the High Plains ripe red fruit. —Oz Clarke, author of Pocket Wine Book and 250 Best Wines Wine Buying Guide

Every upcoming wine region needs a champion, and Russ Kane, relentless in seeking out and understanding what Texas wine has to offer, appears up to the task. —Alice Feiring, author of Naked Wine: Letting Grapes Do What Comes Naturally

On his blog, VintageTexas.com, and now in The Wineslinger Chronicles, Russ Kane is our faithful guide across the wild frontier of Texas wine. . . . Settle by the campfire, pour yourself a Texas-sized glass, and let Ol’ Russ tell you a story. —Dave McIntyre, Washington Post wine columnist and co-founder of DrinkLocalWine.com

About the Author

Russell Kane divides his time between Houston and Fredericksburg, Texas. A technical writer whose research spans three decades and has garnered two awards for writing excellence, he has covered Texas wines and cuisine since 1998 and now blogs on the subject of Texas wine at VintageTexas.com.Doug Frost, Master Sommelier and America’s eighth Master of Wine, is one of three people in the world to hold both distinctions. The host of Check Please, a weekly public television show in Kansas City, he also writes and lectures extensively about wine, beer, and spirits.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

If you are a wine lover, then this delightful read is a must. You will be delighted to learn about how the Texas wine industry has evolved from its beginnings in the 16th Century to today, when it is approaching 300 wineries, many of which are producing world class wines. I mention Texas history because the book is written in a very innovative format. It's not a "wine geeky" type of book, but rather it presents the history of the Texas wine industry, which parallels the colorful history of the great state of Texas.

Presented in a series of stories centered at wineries and the interesting collection of folks who founded them, the story begins with the author sharing an imaginary glass of wine and conversation with a friar from an early Texas Spanish mission, then progresses to the 19th century with the founding of the oldest continuously operating winery in Texas, Val Verde Winery in Del Rio, which was founded in the late 1800s by an Italian immigrant, and survived prohibition by selling wines for sacramental and medicinal purposes. The trail then jumps to the 1970s when the modern Texas wine industry began in earnest. The book describes the early successes, the failures, the loss of vineyards to devasting Pierce's disease, the struggle to find the right grapes for the Texas terroir, the innovations, the heartbreaks, the research, the search for the industry's early roots - all told in a series of fascinating chronicles. It's a great read, even if you're not a serious wine afficanado. I read the book in one rainy weekend that had originally been set aside for planting my vegetable garden. The rain helped enrich the soil for the next weekend, and the book enriched me.

I heard about Russ Kane & his book through a little winery in Dallas, Calais. He was going to be there signing & talking about his book & since I love Texas wines & the Texas can do spirit, I thought I'd go get a book & have it signed by Russ. What I got was much more than I bargained for. Russ for one was a very gentle, knowledegable individual that has a love for land, people & the wines that one can produce in Texas. When I got the book home to my surprise, I couldn't put it down! Russ paints each scene so well and gives us not only useful,interesting information but a wonderful story with memorable people & places.. I will definately be hitting the Texas wine trail now more than ever!!!

I thoroughly loved this book. It's not a typical wine book that relates geeky wine info. Rather, it's a wonderful read that chronicles the lives of those families that worked against the heat and hail and freezes to produce an industry that flourishes today. Great stories of personal trials and tribulations.

If you want a good look at the Texas grape and wine industry, Russ Kane's book is ideal. With the number of wineries increasing from 28 in 1995 to over 300 today, Russ tells the stories of the people who are forging this growth. He takes you around the State, listening to old timers and up and comers. As the industry evolves, moving from the standard European varietals to warmer area Mediterranean grapes (along the French-American varietals Blanc Du Bois and Lenoir), his tasting notes show clearly the impact of this change. And he very deftly covers the State, from the hinterlands of Texas to the Hill Country's U.S. 290 highway wine corridor. It's a fine read and sets a new standard.

I haven't read it all yet but I am confident that this book will help me be the Texas Hill Country expert that I envision. Russ writes well and is certainly knowledgeable. I like that it isn't just a wine guide but delves deeper. I got several copies for my sisters and got a copy for myself directly from the author so I could get it autographed.